Bishop Thomas Grant 7-11 Prospectus

We find the brilliance in every child

History Bishop Thomas Grant School is a heavily oversubscribed 11-18 co-educational Catholic school.

The school was established in 1959 and built in memory of Thomas Grant, the first bishop of Southwark. Bishop Thomas Grant School has a long standing tradition of being a fully inclusive Catholic school welcoming children of all abilities.

The school occupies an enviable position and enjoys attractive and extensive views over much of South West London. Recent development has provided a ÂŁ1.4 million Sixth Form Centre. The main school building was built in the shape of a cross with our school chapel placed at its centre to signify that we place Christ at the heart of everything that we do in our school.

welcome to bishop Thomas Grant School “ Both of my children have flourished at BTG. They have looked forward to going to school every day and have been well-supported as they have gone through the school.”

Year 13 Parent

Dear Parents, When you send your sons and daughters to secondary school, you place your trust in us. We have the opportunity as educators to enable students to shine and gain the qualifications that will open the doors to their future careers.

We expect all students to make exceptional academic progress and to be fully supported in their individual journeys of faith. Our students understand the importance of hard work, good manners, smart appearance, courtesy, co-operation and service to others at all times.

Bishop Thomas Grant is a happy and successful Catholic community.

Each child is a gift from God who has strengths and talents and we will nurture and develop these during their time at our school.

Bishop Thomas Grant School is a warm and welcoming school with a special atmosphere. To experience it for yourself, please come to visit us to discover how your child’s future can start here.

Yours sincerely Mr Louis Desa Headteacher

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An outstanding Catholic Education School Aims At Bishop Thomas Grant School, we make no distinction between the academic, pastoral or spiritual development of our students.

Our aim is to see the total person and provide a strong, invisible, yet tangible network of support and guidance. We recognise that a wellfounded pastoral system provides a solid framework where students feel safe and able to learn. Our pastoral system encourages selfdiscipline, high expectations, respect for self and for others.

There are four principles that should govern a student's experience at BTG. These are to: • Be happy • Be safe • Achieve • Grow in the love of Christ and your faith Without the first two, optimum learning and achievement cannot take place, while the fourth means that the strong ethos of the school creates an environment which is conducive to effective learning, and each individual's potential being realised.

“INSTAURARE OMNIA IN CHRISTO” To unite all things in Christ. Ephesians 1,10 At Bishop Thomas Grant School, we prepare our students to become fully involved in the life of the Church, helping them to grow into mature, informed Catholics. Prayer and Liturgy are central components of this process. Individuals, form classes and staff have opportunities to gather together for prayer, to hear and reflect on the Word of God and receive the sacraments.

Mass is offered every Wednesday at 8.15 am and on Holy Days of obligation in our chapel. Each class in the school prepare for one of the Wednesday masses and all staff, students and parents are welcome to attend. The chapel choir sing at all masses in the school.

We work closely with our local parish priests who are invited to say the Wednesday mass and they also support us in providing the sacrament of reconciliation throughout the year.

We start the beginning of each school year with a mass of welcome for each year group to ask our Lord for his help, guidance and support for the forthcoming year. We also hold a number of other special masses including the Year 11 Mass of Thanksgiving and the Year 13 Leavers’ Mass of Thanksgiving in the Summer term.

There is a planned programme of assemblies for the year on moral and spiritual themes and there are two assemblies for each student every week: A main school assembly; and a year group assembly.

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Each form class begins the day with a prayer. We pray for our community and ask God’s help in fulfilling his plan for us. All lessons in Bishop Thomas Grant School begin with a prayer and students are encouraged to lead the prayers and share their intentions.

“ The school provides outstanding opportunities for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.” ofsted Page 3

“ The behaviour and safety of students are outstanding.

Exceptional care, underpinned by strong values, results in the overwhelming majority of students being happy to come to school.�

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ofsted

Care and Support Pastoral care is very strong at Bishop Thomas Grant School. Young people need to feel safe and secure in order to thrive academically and socially, and our pastoral team works hard to ensure that this is the case and to help students and their families deal with problems if and when they arise.

A ‘house’ system operates at our school. In Year 7, all students are placed in one of our four houses: Matthew; Mark; Luke; or John.

Throughout the school year, students attend house assemblies and take part in house related activities. Sports day is an inter-house event that generates great enthusiasm within the school community.

We also have a ‘Points’ reward system in place whereby students are given reward points for a variety of achievements. Each student’s points total contributes to the overall points total for their house and house events are organised to recognise the efforts made by successful houses.

“ Our school is like a home away from home. Everyone is always happy whilst they are here.”

The pastoral system is organised into a year group system, which includes Form Tutors, Heads of Year, the Pastoral Manager, our Special Needs and Gifted and Talented Co-ordinators, Learning Mentors and external counsellors. The whole system is overseen by a Deputy Headteacher, who is responsible overall for the pastoral care at the school.

Year 7 pupil

Students are organised into tutor groups, within their year groups, with a tutor who will usually look after the group for the whole of their time at school. Every student is encouraged to have a voice and we ensure that they know who to turn to for support whether academic, social or personal.

All students at Bishop Thomas Grant School are encouraged to take part in our annual charity fundraising activities. In recent years, a variety of student-led activities have been successful in raising thousands of pounds supporting each house’s chosen charity. We have been impressed with the generosity of spirit shown by many of our students on these occasions.

Rewarding our students and recognising their successes in achievement, effort, fundraising and showing kindness to others is important at Bishop Thomas Grant. Individual and collective successes are celebrated and certificates, prizes and reward afternoons are enjoyed by students in houses who achieve success.

From the moment that students join Bishop Thomas Grant, students are encouraged to contribute to the decision making in the school through the school council, the prefect system and the house captains.

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The Curriculum At Bishop Thomas Grant, we believe passionately, that every student must access a modern curriculum that is fit for purpose, stretching, enjoyable and that equips them with skills and knowledge for the future.

We have designed a range of different curriculum pathways for our students as they progress through the school: We recognise that some students flourish from undertaking a rigorous academic pathway whilst others need a greater proportion of Maths and English lessons in order to enable them to access the curriculum and to develop their life skills. We are committed to ensuring that every child leaves us with the best education to prepare them for their lives as adults and followers of Christ.

Our most able students will follow a grammar school curriculum in our “Express” stream. Here, students will study the separate Sciences, Computer Science and Latin as well as a second modern foreign language alongside the core curriculum subjects. Students in the “Express” stream will take some GCSEs early.

We also have a “Nurture” group that begins in Year 7. This is a small class who benefit from a primary school model based mainly in one classroom as they integrate into secondary school with greater in class support and mentoring as well as specialist numeracy and literacy teachers to provide them with the best start to secondary school.

When they are ready, these students will integrate with their peers in the main school for all classes at an appropriate point in Key Stage 3.

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We place great emphasis upon independent study and homework.

We regard it as an essential extension of school work and a valuable life-skill. All students have additional learning to complete each evening and parents are provided with a homework timetable. An online homework calendar enables parents to check the work set for their child and to download additional resources. Parents are also invited to attend a curriculum evening at the beginning of each academic year for their child where the school updates them on key information for their child’s learning that year. The school provides the contact details of all Heads of Department and senior staff at the curriculum evening. Parental support and involvement are highly valued: Working in partnership achieves the very best support for the children and their families.

A broad, balanced and personalised curriculum for every child.

Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all students develop strong mathematical, literacy and scientific skills. Students are encouraged to develop the skills of problem solving, to be confident speakers and presenters, supportive listeners and to participate fully in all areas of the curriculum to develop their talents.

Creativity and challenge are key elements in our teaching and we want our learners of today to be thoughtful, astute and resilient as they live out the gospel values in their chosen fields for the future.

All students will take GCSEs in English, English Literature, Mathematics, at least 2 Sciences and Religious Education, and they will have the opportunity to choose additional subjects in which to specialise in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5. The wide range of courses that we offer include: • Additional Mathematics • Art • Art Textiles • Biology • Business • Chemistry • Child Development • Computer Science • Design & Technology

“ The school’s curriculum is broad and balanced and it is under constant review to ensure that it provides opportunities for memorable experiences and high quality learning.”

• Drama & Theatre Studies

• Economics

• Media Studies

• French

• Performing Arts

• Further Mathematics

• Photography

• German

• Physical Education & Sport

• Geography • Government & Politics • Health & Social Care • History • ICT • Leisure & Tourism • Latin

• Physics • Polish • Portuguese • Psychology • Sociology • Spanish • Statistics

This wide variety of courses enables students to be successful and to develop their talents and interests in preparation for university and their future careers.

ofsted Page 7

Assessment Assessment and reporting are undertaken thoroughly and are reported formally at three assessment points during the year and during Parents’ Consultations.

There are also formal examinations for each year group at the end of each term. Students are given attainment targets to achieve in every subject for each year and progress is reviewed against these regularly.

We use a range of intervention strategies to support students who need additional guidance.

The Deputy Headteacher who has responsibility for the Curriculum works closely with the Pastoral Deputy Headteacher, Heads of Department, Heads of Year, teachers and support staff to ensure that every student not only makes expected progress but is given the chance to exceed expectations and to truly excel. We achieve the highest standards of academic achievement.

Our school is a community and a family. It is important to us that we know each student personally and that we prepare them for their next stage of their education, careers and futures. We want them to achieve excellent qualifications and skills and to be the very best in everything that they aspire to achieve.

“ Students are set challenging targets, which are rigorously monitored to ensure that students do not fall behind.� ofsted Page 8

Beyond the Classroom Achieving excellent results must be a priority for all students but we also encourage everyone to involve themselves in other activities, so that their time with us will be challenging, enjoyable and productive in all ways.

Education is about much more than examinations. Life at Bishop Thomas Grant is always busy and exciting. We offer a vast enrichment programme for all students from Year 7 to Year 13 ranging from sporting activities, music clubs, choirs, orchestra, language clubs and debating with new clubs being added each year. Students participate in the school production run jointly by the Music and Drama departments and regularly participate in public speaking competitions and theatre trips. The standard of Music at the school is exceptional and our choirs have toured locally, nationally and internationally. The Chapel Choir have performed at: Eton; at colleges in Oxford and Cambridge; at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; and in Germany.

There are a wide range of clubs for boys and girls taking place before school, during lunch and after school including: • Animal Welfare

• Drumming

• Archery

• Duke of Edinburgh • Police Cadets

• Art Textiles

• Eurolab

• Polish

• Art

• Film

• Portuguese

• Athletics

• Fitness

• Rounders

• Badminton

• Football

• Rugby

Our students have many opportunities to participate in trips abroad.

We have an annual ski trip to Austria as well as visits to France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland and the USA. Netball, Football and Rugby tours to Milan, Barcelona and Dublin are available to students. The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme is popular, with many students aged 14-18 achieving Bronze and Silver Awards by the end of Year 12 and beginning their Gold Award in Year 13.

• Barbershop boys

• Girls Choir

• School Production

• Basketball

• Greek

• Science

• Capoeira

• Handball

• Ski

• Ceramics

• Healthy Active Lifestyle

• Soul Choir

Students are also encouraged to attend the Da Vinci Lectures held in school to listen to talks on a range of subjects from university academics and people in industry throughout the year.

• Chess

• Chapel Choir • Cheerleading

• Classics • Cricket • Dance • Debating

• Orchestra

• Homework

• Strength & Conditioning

• Junior Barbershop

• Table Tennis

• Junior Cadets

• Tennis

• Mathematics

• Trampolining

• Micro Barbershop

• Young Leaders Sports Award

• Netball

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Learning Resources Our Learning Resources Centre is open to students before and after school. Students have access to computers and homework club is also available.

As a specialist Mathematics and ICT school, we have 11 ICT classrooms.

Each department in the school has its own suite of classrooms fully equipped with up to date ICT facilities. Post-16 students have their own Sixth Form Centre, common rooms, a dedicated study area and their own canteen.

“ Gospel values impact and inform on a daily basis and can be seen through works of charity at home and abroad, for instance the excellent programme of training Year 8 students to act as ‘Bully Buddies’ and the ongoing sponsorship of a school in Sri Lanka.”

Section 48 Diocesan Inspection Page 10

The Arts faculty has a Drama Studio, a self-contained Music suite with practice rooms, for private instrumental lessons, a suite of Macs for Music technology and a dark room for Photography. As well as making good use of the outside space, the PE department have 2 gyms and a large Sports Hall. Students also get the opportunity to participate in sports off-site including swimming and many team sports. Students have a weekly games afternoon in addition to their PE lessons.

There are 3 canteens for the Lower school, Upper school and the Sixth Form which serve hot food before and after school as well as at break and lunch. We operate a cashless catering system with parents paying online. Parents are also able to see what their children have purchased by logging on. We encourage healthy eating and award reward points to students for eating healthily which contribute towards certificates and prizes each term for both houses and individual students.

“ Parents and carers hold the school in very high regard and believe that their children are looked after extremely well.� ofsted Page 11

An 11-18 Experience Our Key Stage 4 curriculum is carefully planned to enable students to progress into the Sixth Form where the majority of our students stay on to study.

The school offers a wide range of A levels and vocational courses. Most of our students continue their education at University or Colleges of Further Education when they leave us at 18.

Sixth Form students are a vital part of our school community and have positions of responsibility as House Captains and Head Boy/ Head Girl. They also organise events for younger students and help with their learning, both in the classroom and as mentors through our buddy programme.

A full-time careers adviser works with all students in the school providing advice and guidance throughout their school career and guides them towards their eventual transition to university or employment. Our students leave as young men and women ready to take their place in the world.

A separate Sixth Form prospectus is available regarding Post-16 provision at our school.

“ BTG is not just a school: Immediately it becomes a family, a second home. I have had some of the greatest moments of my life here.

I have made many friends, laughed so much that I've cried and learnt so much about myself and what I want to do.�

Year 11 pupil Page 12

Bishop Thomas Grant 11–18 Catholic Co-educational School

Bishop Thomas Grant 11–18 Catholic Co-educational School

Bishop Thomas Grant School, Belltrees Grove, Streatham, London, SW16 2HY.

www.btg.ac

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Tel: 020 8769 3294 Fax: 020 8769 4917 Email: info@btg-secondary.lambeth.sch.uk @ BTGSchool